CHICAGO – Chicago Mayor Richard Daley signaled Wednesday that he’ll ask for a smaller property tax increase to fund the 2008 city budget – an apparent concession to a groundswell of public protest.

Daley did not offer specifics but said his administration as soon as next week would recommend a combination of spending cuts, expense deferrals and new ideas to raise revenue. In early October, the mayor proposed collecting an additional $108 million in real-estate taxes from property owners, plus other tax and fee increases. Aldermen have since come forward with alternate ideas.

“No one likes taxes, I mean, let’s (be) realistic,” Daley said following a City Council meeting that drew anti-tax protesters. “So like anything else you listen to them and you get back and go back to the drawing board. That’s what leadership is all about. I’m not afraid of that.”

Daley’s revised budget proposal comes at a time when Chicago residents face potential tax increases from two other layers of government – the Cook County Board and the Illinois General Assembly.

Student's statements probed

LINCOLN – Inflammatory comments made Tuesday by a student at Lincoln Community High School have created a whirlwind of rumors, according to Lincoln Police Chief Stuart Erlenbush.

Erlenbush released a statement Wednesday morning about the comments, but refused to describe the nature of the student's statements. But he said his officers are taking them seriously.

Police officers were present at the school Wednesday morning to ensure student safety, said the chief.

The student who made the comments cannot be named because of his or her juvenile status, but Lincoln police did interview that student Tuesday evening, according to Erlenbush's statement. The student did not attend school Wednesday, he said. Police also interviewed other students involved, all juveniles, but they did not
make any arrests.

Investigators have contacted the state's attorney's office about the episode, but for now, LCHS will attempt to handle the matter within the school, Erlenbush said. Lincoln Community High School officials did not immediately return a call about the matter.

Student marooned by hairdo

PEORIA — Shawnterya Carter didn’t go to school Wednesday, and neither the 12-year-old nor her mother can say when she’ll return.

The problem isn’t her health. It’s her hair.

Pleasant Valley Middle School says Shawnterya’s new hair color — actually, just her extensions — is disruptive. So she has been barred from school until she changes her ‘do.

“If I felt it was inappropriate, I wouldn’t let her do it,” Neasman says.

Over the weekend, Shawnterya got her hair done in micro braids — a popular style, especially among African-American women. It features tight, thin braids weaved into hair extensions, which flare out freely. The hairstyle involves an elaborate process: it took 10 hours to get it just right — and cost $100.

The school’s objection stems not from the hairstyle or length, but the color of the extensions. They’re maroon.

The principal, who declined comment, told the girl she could not return to school unless the maroon was removed from her hair.

The student handbook only states that “Any type of dress or grooming that is inappropriate or disruptive will not be permitted ...”

The school superintendent did not return calls seeking a comment.

ISU students to open hookah lounge

NORMAL — Two Illinois State University students will bring a Middle Eastern tradition to Normal this December when they open the ISHookah Lounge in uptown Normal.

Nineteen-year-old ISU marketing students Steve Peak and Mark Killick of the Chicago area said the new hookah lounge, which will open Dec. 6 at 202 North. St., will give bored college students under 21 something to do in an alcohol-free environment.

Peak and Killick said their primary market will be college students under 21, but anyone of age is welcome. Customers will be provided with a hookah, a water pipe with several tubes, and can purchase a variety of flavored tobaccos to smoke.

Most hookah bars in Illinois are around the Chicago area, while a few have popped up near college communities in Champaign and Carbondale.

While Normal prevents smoking in public places, and a statewide ban goes into effect Jan. 1, Normal City Manager Mark Peterson said the hookah lounge is classified as a tobacco shop and is exempt from the bans.

The lounge will offer 35 flavors of shisha, which is prepared by soaking tobacco in molasses and dried fruit. Peak said the flavors can be combined for more than 1,000 combinations.

Mom angry at police over handling of sex assault

PEORIA - A South Peoria mother is outraged about what she calls the indifferent attitude of police concerning the sexual assault of her daughter. The accusations against police not reporting incidents are the second of this nature in less than two months.

The woman contacted the (Peoria) Journal Star on Tuesday morning - two days after a man chased her 12-year-old daughter into an alley in the 1700 block of Stanley Street and fondled her at knifepoint - because she had seen nothing in the media regarding the attack.

Information about the case was not released sooner because it is still under investigation, police spokeswoman Ann Ruggles said Tuesday. She declined to comment further, but earlier said police were trying to determine if the victim's story was made up.

In a news release sent out late Tuesday morning, police said the victim was walking on Stanley Street at Hayes Street about 9 p.m. Sunday when a man approached her and sexually assaulted her.

On Sept. 14, a 16-year-old was sexually assaulted while walking to school in the 2000 block of Ann Street by a man who had been following her in his older model car. The man pulled the girl behind a house and forced her to perform oral sex.

Media was not alerted to the attack until the mother contacted the Journal Star a week later. It was then police issued a statement confirming the assault. There have been no arrests.

Profits improve for controversial Springfield hotel

SPRINGFIELD — The President Abraham Lincoln Hotel and Conference Center has become more profitable under a court-appointed receiver after years of losing money. The hotel in downtown Springfield earned $927,000 in the six months since Hostmark Hospitality Group began running the property compared to a $126,000 profit for the same period in 2006.

State Treasurer Alexi Giannoulias said the hotel had made only two payments on a state backed loan since 1998, and none in the past four years. As part of a refinancing deal, hotel owners make payments only when they hotel shows a profit.

The loan has been the subject of repeated political controversies, and late last year a Cook County Circuit judge declared the property in default. The hotel owners are fighting the foreclosure.

Man convicted in 2004 of killing father faces additional charges

SPRINGFIELD — A man already serving 30 years for shooting his father to death in 2004 now faces additional charges of aggravated discharge of a firearm, possession of a weapon by a felon and aggravated battery for allegedly shooting at a police officer and fleeing on the same day in 2004.

Chad A. King, now 27, was convicted of shooting Robert “Dean” King early on the morning of Dec. 16, 2004 at their rural home near Springfield. The younger King later shot himself in the face as police closed in. The most serious of the new charges, firing at a police officer, carries a 10 to 45-year sentence.

The statute of limitations was scheduled to expire next month, said Sangamon County State’s attorney John Schmidt.

King is serving time at Stateville Correctional Center in Joliet.

Rockford man faces cocaine-related charges

ROCKFORD - Police have arrested a man after they found him in possession of cocaine.
Rodney Love, 46, of Rockford, is in the Winnebago County Jail on $125,000 bond.

Members of the Police Department’s narcotics unit who were investigating the sale of narcotics at a home in the 300 block of Stanley arrested Love after they searched the residence. During the search, they recovered an undisclosed quantity of cocaine, officials said in a statement.

Love is charged with possession with intent to deliver cocaine within 1,000 feet of a park and obstructing justice.
He also was arrested on an outstanding Winnebago County warrant.

3 Belvidere students diagnosed with staph infections

BELVIDERE - Three Belvidere students have been diagnosed with the antibiotic-resistant MRSA staph infection.
School officials notified parents Tuesday by letter, informing them about the dangers of the disease.

“We don’t have any reason to believe that it is being spread through the schools, but we wanted families to be aware and have the comfort of calling their own physicians,” Superintendent Micheal Houselog said. “We saw it as a proactive, precautionary measure. Rather than trying to be alarming.”

Two cases were identified at Washington Elementary School and a third at Central Middle School.
CA-MRSA is a type of staph infection resistant to some antibiotics. More than 94,000 people developed a serious form of the infection in 2005, according to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention. About 18,650 died during a hospital stay caused by MRSA.

MRSA is often spread through skin-to-skin contact or the shared use of towel, bandage, or other item that has come in touch with the infected area.

School officials have asked parents to contact their physician if they have a rash or open sore and believe they have been in contact with an infected person.

“Our level of concern is always high, but it becomes higher at times like these,” Houselog said.